Molded Textured Imaging Blanket Surface

ABSTRACT

Forming an imaging blanket for a printing apparatus includes depositing a patternable material over a substrate, etching the patternable material according to a desired exposure pattern, hardening the etched patternable material to thereby form a template surface comprising a desired template pattern of texture features, depositing a layer of curable liquid polymer over and in physical contact with the template surface, curing the liquid polymer to thereby form the imaging blanket, and removing the imaging blanket from the template surface to thereby expose a patterned imaging surface of the imaging blanket. The image blanket may thereby be provided with a desired texture surface, for example comprised of individual molded image blanket features, such as recesses or pillars, of a desired cross-sectional shape. The image blanket is configured for and may be disposed on an image forming member of a variable data lithography system.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure is related to marking and printing systems, andmore specifically to an element of such a system having a controlledsurface roughness and oleophobicity.

Offset lithography is a common method of printing today. (For thepurposes hereof, the terms “printing” and “marking” areinterchangeable.) In a typical lithographic process an imaging plate,which may be a flat plate-like element, the surface of a cylinder, orbelt, etc., is formed to have “image regions” formed of hydrophobic andoleophilic material, and “non-image regions” formed of a hydrophilicmaterial. The image regions are regions corresponding to the areas onthe final print (i.e., the target substrate) that are occupied by aprinting or marking material such as ink, whereas the non-image regionsare the regions corresponding to the areas on the final print that arenot occupied by said marking material. The hydrophilic regions acceptand are readily wetted by a water-based fluid, commonly referred to as afountain or dampening fluid (typically consisting of water and a smallamount of alcohol as well as other additives and/or surfactants toreduce surface tension). The hydrophobic regions repel dampening fluidand accept ink, whereas the dampening fluid formed over the hydrophilicregions forms a fluid “release layer” for rejecting ink. Therefore thehydrophilic regions of the imaging plate correspond to unprinted areas,or “non-image areas”, of the final print.

The ink may be transferred directly to a substrate, such as paper, ormay be applied to an intermediate surface, such as an offset (orblanket) cylinder in an offset printing system. In the latter case, theoffset cylinder is covered with a conformable coating or sleeve with asurface that can conform to the texture of the substrate, which may havesurface peak-to-valley depth somewhat greater than the surfacepeak-to-valley depth of the imaging blanket. Sufficient pressure is usedto transfer the image from the blanket or offset cylinder to thesubstrate.

The above-described lithographic and offset printing techniques utilizeplates which are permanently patterned with the image to be printed (orits negative), and are therefore useful only when printing a largenumber of copies of the same image (long print runs), such as magazines,newspapers, and the like. These methods do not permit printing adifferent pattern from one page to the next (referred to herein asvariable printing) without removing and replacing the print cylinderand/or the imaging plate (i.e., the technique cannot accommodate truehigh speed variable printing wherein the image changes from impressionto impression, for example, as in the case of digital printing systems).

Lithography and the so-called waterless process provide very highquality printing, in part due to the quality and color gamut of the inksused. Furthermore, these inks, which typically have very high colorpigment content, are very low cost compared to toners and many othertypes of marking materials. Thus, while there is a desire to use thelithographic and offset inks for printing in order to take advantage ofthe high quality and low cost, there is also a desire to print variabledata from page to page.

One problem encountered is that offset inks have too high a viscosity(often well above 50,000 cps) to be useful in typical variable printingsystems such as nozzle-based inkjet systems. In addition, because oftheir tacky nature, offset inks have very high surface adhesion forcesrelative to electrostatic forces and are therefore very difficult tomanipulate onto or off of a surface using electrostatics. (This is incontrast to dry or liquid toner particles used inxerographic/electrographic systems, which have low surface adhesionforces due to their particle shape and the use of tailored surfacechemistry and special surface additives.)

Efforts have been made to create lithographic and offset printingsystems for variable data in the past. One example is disclosed in U.S.Pat. No. 3,800,699, incorporated herein by reference, in which anintense energy source such as a laser is used to pattern-wise evaporatea dampening fluid.

In another example disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,191,705, incorporatedherein by reference, a hydrophilic coating is applied to an imagingbelt. A laser selectively heats and evaporates or decomposes regions ofthe hydrophilic coating. Next a water based dampening fluid is appliedto these hydrophilic regions rendering them oleophobic. Ink is thenapplied and selectively transfers onto the plate only in the areas notcovered by dampening fluid, creating an inked pattern that can betransferred to a substrate. Once transferred, the belt is cleaned, a newhydrophilic coating and dampening fluid are deposited, and thepatterning, inking, and printing steps are repeated, for example forprinting the next batch of images.

In yet another example, a rewritable surface is utilized that can switchfrom hydrophilic to hydrophobic states with the application of thermal,electrical, or optical energy. Examples of these surfaces include socalled switchable polymers and metal oxides such as ZnO₂ and TiO₂. Afterchanging the surface state, dampening fluid selectively wets thehydrophilic areas of the programmable surface and therefore rejects theapplication of ink to these areas.

In general, the dampening fluid is applied as a relatively thin layerover an image plate. A certain amount of surface roughness is requiredin order to retain the dampening fluid thereover. In some commerciallyavailable imaging systems, specific non-printing areas are defined by asurface with an adequate surface roughness targeted to retain the thinlayer of dampening fluid. Providing surface roughness is in part afunction of the material forming the imaging plate. Metal imaging platesare susceptible to a variety of texturing methods, such as etching,anodizing, and so on.

A family of variable data lithography devices has been developed thatuse a structure to perform both the functions of a traditional plate andof a traditional blanket to retain a patterned fountain solution forinking, and to delivering that ink pattern to a substrate. See U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/095,714, incorporated herein byreference. A blanket performing both of these functions is referred toherein as an imaging blanket. The blanket in such devices retains adampening fluid, requiring that its surface have a selected texture.Texturing of such a structure has heretofor not been optimized.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, the present disclosure is directed to a method of forming,by molding or casting, an imaging blanket having a desired image blanketsurface texture comprised of a plurality of image blanket features. Theimage blanket is removably formed over a textured substrate, and may beremovably secured to an image forming member of a variable datalithography system.

According to one aspect of the disclosure, a method of forming animaging blanket for a printing apparatus comprises: depositing aphotolithographically patternable material over a substrate; exposingthe photolithographically patternable material to a desired exposurepattern; etching the photolithographically patternable materialaccording to the desired exposure pattern; hardening the etchedphotolithographically patternable material to thereby form a templatesurface comprising a desired template pattern of texture features;depositing a layer of curable liquid polymer over and in physicalcontact with the template surface; curing the liquid polymer to therebyform the imaging blanket; and removing the imaging blanket from thetemplate surface to thereby expose a patterned imaging surface of theimaging blanket.

Implementations of this aspect may also include forming thephotolithographically patternable material over a glass substrate. Thetexture features may be formed to have a substantially similarcross-sectional shape. The cross sectional shape of the texture featuresmay be selected to optimize the specific variables of the system inwhich the blanket disclosed herein is disposed, such as but not limitedto a one or more shapes such as polygons, ovals (including ellipses),and circles. The texture features may be formed as recesses or aspillars. In certain implementations, the texture features aresubstantially uniformly spaced apart from one another by a spacing ofbetween 1 μm and 5 μm. Alternatively, the texture features may bepseudo-randomly arranged, again with a spacing of between 1 μm and 5 μm.In other implementations, the texture features are formed to have anon-planar surface edge slope profile.

According to another aspect of the disclosure, an imaging blanket foruse in a variable data lithography system comprises a polymer bodystructure having formed therein a repeating pattern of molded imageblanket features, each said feature having a selected cross sectionalshape, the pattern of molded image blanket features configured in animage-independent pattern.

Implementations of this aspect may also include the image blanketfeatures having a substantially similar cross-sectional shape selectedfrom the group consisting of: squares, octagons, circles, and hexagons.The image blanket features may be formed as recesses or as pillars. Incertain implementations, the image blanket features are substantiallyuniformly spaced apart from one another by a spacing of between 1 μm and5 μm. In other implementations, the image blanket features are formed tohave a non-planar surface edge slope profile. In still otherimplementations, the image blanket is removably disposed on an imageforming member of a variable data lithography system.

According to still further aspects of the present disclosure, thetextured substrate may be directly formed by photolithographicprocesses, etching following resist development, and may include usingthe substrate so-formed as a master to form sub-masters used for moldingthe blanket surface. Other variations of use of a master texturedsurface are also contemplated. Unless otherwise noted the use of theterm master herein includes the notion of using a sub-master for theformation of texture in the image blanket.

The above is a brief summary of a number of unique aspects, features,and advantages of the present disclosure. The above summary is providedto introduce the context and certain concepts relevant to the fulldescription that follows. However, this summary is not exhaustive. Theabove summary is not intended to be nor should it be read as anexclusive identification of aspects, features, or advantages of theclaimed subject matter. Therefore, the above summary should not be readas imparting limitations to the claims nor in any other way determiningthe scope of said claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings appended hereto like reference numerals denote likeelements between the various drawings. While illustrative, the drawingsare not drawn to scale. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of forming a molded imageblanket according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a patterned cast master including a number oftest regions for testing various texture features according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is an image of the patterned cast master shown in greater detailin FIG. 2.

FIGS. 4A through 4H are scanning electron microscope (SEM) images at a10 μm scale of various image surfaces of image blankets formed by themolding processes disclosed in the present disclosure.

FIGS. 5A through 5H are scanning electron microscope (SEM) images at a 1μm scale of the various image surfaces of image blankets shown in FIGS.4 a through 4H, respectively.

FIGS. 6A-6H are edge-view SEM images of the textured silicone surfacesof the samples shown in FIGS. 4A through 4H and FIGS. 5A through 5H.

FIGS. 7A through 7C are SEM images of various image surfaces having adampening fluid applied thereover in order to evaluate fluid retentionby various feature patterns according to embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 8 are SEM images of portions of a test image surface and an imageof the test image surface having dampening fluid applied thereover,according to aspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are edge-view SEM images of textured silicone surfacesformed from a controlled 0.5 μm photoresist thickness on the glassmaster template according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 is an image of a test image surface having ink appliedthereover, illustrating ink acceptance of various different texturepatterns on the test surface according to embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 11 is a test print image (logo) and SEM images of correspondingregions of the imaging surface used to form that test print imageaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 is a graph of contact angle plotted against crater width forvarious test texture patterns formed on image surfaces according toembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 13 is a table of measured roughness factor as a function of featurecross-section shape for various test texture patterns formed on imagesurfaces according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 14 is a table of measured roughness factor as a function of craterwidth for various test texture patterns formed on image surfacesaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 15 is a flow chart illustrating a process for forming andimplementing an imaging blanket according to another embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIGS. 16A through 16I illustrate various elements of the implementationof the process shown in FIG. 15.

FIG. 17 is a side view of a variable data lithography system including apolymer imaging blanket, having a patterned imaging surface, affixed toa printing member therein, according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

We initially point out that description of well-known startingmaterials, processing techniques, components, equipment and otherwell-known details may merely be summarized or are omitted so as not tounnecessarily obscure the details of the present disclosure. Thus, wheredetails are otherwise well known, we leave it to the application of thepresent disclosure to suggest or dictate choices relating to thosedetails.

Many of the examples mentioned herein are directed to an imaging blanket(including, for example, a printing sleeve, belt, drum, and the like)that has a uniformly grained and textured blanket surface that isink-patterned for printing. In a still further example of variable datalithographic printing, such as disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser.No. 13/095,714, incorporated herein by reference, a direct centralimpression printing drum having a low durometer polymer imaging blanketis employed, over which for example, a dampening fluid may be formed andinked. Such a polymer imaging blanket requires, among other parameters,a unique specification on surface roughness, radiation absorptivity, andoleophobicity.

The controlled surface roughness has the function of retaining arelatively very thin (for example, on the order of 200 nm) dampeningfluid layer for subsequent selective removal, for example by an incidentnear-infrared (IR) laser beam. Specific patterns of features, featuresshape and size, and other surface characteristics are formed, such as bymolding, into the surface of the polymer imaging blanket.

According to this disclosure, a method of surface texturing a variabledata lithography imaging blanket having a polymer body is disclosed.According to certain embodiments, the method comprises polymer surfacetexturing. The polymer (such as silicone) imaging blankets are oftenformed by casting. Typical as-cast polymer surfaces have a high surfacegloss, especially on the molded face surface.

One method of fabrication involves cast molding where the mold master isfabricated with a photoresist layer patterned using a lithographicprocess. The molded surface roughness depth is then controlled by thephotoresist layer thickness, and exposure and development times, andlateral surface roughness periodicity is controlled by the patterndefinition. In one embodiment of such pattern definition, the definedsurface pattern can comprise fluid channels to minimize a buildup ofbubbles within the dampening fluid.

In some embodiments, it is desirable to provide a polymer imagingblanket having a peak-to-valley surface roughness that is uniform andcan retain dampening fluid for greater than 4 seconds. Similarly, incertain embodiments, it is also desirable to have lateral periodic oraverage aperiodic pitch not exceeding roughly 5 microns (μm), and incertain embodiments 1 μm. Still further, in certain embodiments it isalso desirable that the polymer blanket surface retains printing ink butbe configured to release it for ink transfer to a paper medium.

Forming an imaging plate by known methods such as using an anodizedaluminum surface or using beads on the order of micron-scale can lead tonon-uniform surface height variations. According to these known methods,the imaging plate surface may be textured, for example, by ablating theimaging plate surface such as by polishing paper or laser tool. Ingeneral, surface uniformity using these methods is not optimal,especially when the lateral periodic structure requirement is in thesingle digit micron scale. Multimode surface height distributions havebeen observed for these plate surfaces. These variations inpeak-to-valley height can lead to varying thicknesses of dampening fluidwhich impacts variable data ink printing quality and reliability.

In certain embodiments, slurry with very fine particulates (0.03microns) is used to obtain a desired texture from a smooth blanket. In afurther embodiment, a ground IR absorber (Carbon black) of the desiredsize (200-400 nm) may be introduced into the imaging blanket material.As it is exposed, through polishing, a desired texture may be obtained.

For certain embodiments of variable data printing, it is desirable tohave the imaging blanket bind the oil-based printing ink only minimallyso that the deposited ink image can be transferred to paper. Curedpolymer material such as Dow Toray SE9187 black silicone (Dow CorningCompany) exhibits such oleophobic behavior and minimally binds theprinting ink as desired. Dow Toray SE9187 black silicone is asingle-component system having a viscosity of 1000 cP. Silicone is oneexample of an appropriate imaging blanket material, while fluorocarbonelastomer, fluorosilicone rubber, silicone, and other polymers may alsobe employed. We have found it helpful to dilute this polymer withvarious diluents (such as Toluene, heptane, and ethanol). For casting,viscosity needs to be less than 300 cps. Other one- or two-componentpolymer systems can also be engineered to exhibit such oleophobicbehavior as well.

Dampening solution has a relatively low viscosity and relatively highsurface energy, and therefore tends to fill fine featured, small radiusof curvature pits. Inks, by contrast, have relatively high viscosity andlow surface energies and therefore tend not to fill pits, but ratherspan from peak to peak over a bed of trapped air. This creates aneffective interfacial energy that is a spatial average of theblanket/ink and air/ink interfacial energies. Thus, the surface texturecan be chosen depending on the surface energies and rheologies of thetwo fluids so as to optimize their differential behaviors.

The textured surface polymer imaging blanket should be capable ofabsorbing electromagnetic radiation energy to vaporize a very thinlycoated dampening fluid layer, for example to form ink receiving regions,during printing. Therefore, according to certain embodiments, thepolymer system may further incorporate carbon powder or carbon nanotubeswith a near-surface loading concentration of about 3 to 25 percent byweight to facilitate the surface absorption of electromagnetic radiationenergy.

As was mentioned previously, it is desirable to have a textured blanketsurface with uniform peak-to-valley height. According to one embodimentdisclosed herein, this can be accomplished by forming an imaging blanketsurface using a textured mold, copying the textured surface from themold to the imaging blanket. Fine lateral periodic structures andcontrollable peak to valley heights may thereby be obtained.

According to an embodiment disclosed herein, a textured mold is formedusing conventional photolithography methods to enable the fabrication ofpolymer printing test blankets. Dampening fluid retention ability andinking ability of the textured imaging blanket surface is improved ascompared to known imaging plate surface formation methods.

An exemplary method 10 according to this embodiment is illustrated inFIG. 1. At step 12 of method 10 a template plate is prepared to receivephotolithographically patternable material. In one example, the templateplate may be glass, while other materials may also be used as will beappreciated. At step 14, a layer of photolithographically patternablematerial (e.g., photoresist) is applied over the glass plate. Examplephotoresists include Microposit S1800 series photoresist (positivephotoresist) and Microchem SU-8 series photoresist (negativephotoresist) while other photoresists may also be employed. Thephotoresist may be negative or positive, depending on the exposuremethod and other implementation preferences. The photoresist is nextexposed at step 16 to a desired exposure pattern. Exposure may be by wayof mask, direct exposure (e.g., laser patterning), or other appropriatemethod. In one specific embodiment, UV exposure may be employed. Thephotoresist is next etched, at step 18, to form a desired templatepattern. Appropriate etchants will be dictated by the photoresistemployed and other implementation preferences. At step 20, the etchedphotoresist pattern is hardened, such as by exposure to a prescribeddosage of ultra-violet radiation to form a template surface. Thetemplate plate with etched and hardened photoresist layer is nextprepared at step 22 for receipt of layer of polymer material which willform the imaging blanket surface, for example by cleaning and applying alayer of material to assist with release of the polymer, such as a thinlayer of Parylene (on the order of 1 microns thick).

According to one variation of the above, following development of thephotoresist material, etching is performed so as to etch into thetemplate plate surface, using the patterned photoresist as a mask. Thephotoresist may be hardened and left in place, or removed such that thepatterned template plate surface itself becomes the mold surface.

In addition, in either the case of hardened photoresist or etchedtemplate plate (or both), the resulting mold may be a master from whichmultiple submaster molds may be formed. In such a case, the masterpattern must be inverted so that the submaster has the desiredtopography. The submaster molds may be cast structures of a materialsuitable to retail the texture detail from the master, and provide thattexture detail for subsequent use as a mold for the imaging blanketmaterial.

At step 24 a curable blanket compound, such as the aforementionedsilicone compound in liquid form, is applied over the template surface.(Again, alternative materials include certain fluoropolymer elastomersand synthetic rubber materials, such as Viton, from DuPont, Inc., andother similar materials.) To permit flow of the polymer compound intothe interstices of the template surface, the viscosity of the polymer iscontrolled, e.g., to on the order of 300 cps, by the addition ofselected additives. Further, the casting or embossing can be performedin an evacuated zone to avoid air capture and enhance capillary fillingof the mold. At step 26 the liquid polymer compound is cured, such as atroom temperature or elevated temperature, overnight for such time andunder such conditions as the specific polymer compound warrants, orusing ultraviolet (UV) irradiation to promote crosslinking. The curedpolymer imaging blanket is then removed from the template plate, washed,and rinsed at step 28. The polymer imaging blanket may then be disposedon an appropriate carrier in a printing system, described further below.In certain applications the template plate with prepared etched andhardened photoresist layer may be reused to produce additional polymerimaging blankets, while in other applications the photoresist layer orboth the photoresist layer and plate are single-use only. Thephotoresist layer can be formed on a transparent cylinder or belt andused to emboss an uncured or partially cured blanket surface. UVirradiation through the master or through the plate can cure the blanketbefore it is peeled from the master. This can be part of a roll to rollprocess.

A prototype study was performed, using a variety of plates, each havinga selected texture pattern and pitch, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3.These plates form casts for molding one or more imaging blankets, andtherefore may be referred to as cast masters herein. FIG. 2 is aclose-up view of the features, and FIG. 3 is a map illustrating thetexture pattern closer to actual scale. It will be noted that thecolumns of the array of FIGS. 2 and 3 are grouped by pitch (μm) overfeature height (or depth). (All features were 2 microns (μm) in height.)For example 10/2 represents a pillar repeat pitch of 10 and featureheight (depth) of 2 μm. These cast masters were used to study dampeningfluid retention ability and inking ability of the various texturedimaging blanket surfaces. The initial design had a minimum designedfeature size of two microns. The patterns illustrated in FIG. 2 are eacha 0.8″ square texture test patch, all of which being arranged on a sixinch square photomask. Four feature shapes (square, octagon, round, andhoneycomb) were explored in this test. Pillars (rods) and holes on thephotomask represent the two mask polarities that are possible. Thedesign features' lateral periodic pitch was varied from 10 μm down to 4μm.

Features formed in the photoresist may be referred to as texturefeatures, while features molded from these texture features to form theimage blanket may be referred to as molded image blanket features orsimply image blanket features. Texture features were formed to have agenerally planar surface, although such texture features, and in turnthe image blanket features, may have controlled surface edge slopeprofiles. Such profiles may be provided for all texture features, orselected texture features (such as those at selected locations, e.g.,near the periphery, of the cast master). Texture features, and henceimage blanket features, do not correspond directly to elements of animage to be printed, for example they are not letters, or images per se.Indeed, their small feature width highlights this. Nor do the featurescorrespond to pixels that comprise an image to be printed. Rather, theyform the general, and in certain embodiments uniform, surface topographyof the image blanket used to enable variable data lithography.Accordingly, we refer to the pattern of texture features, and henceimage blanket features, as an image-independent pattern.

The shaded area represents chrome features on the photomask whichcorrespond to the dampening fluid holding area on the to-be-formedpolymer imaging blanket surface if a positive photoresist is used forthe master. The opposite correspondence results if a negativephotoresist is used. The white area represents the area with no chromeon the photomask, and will be the polymer dam ribs separating dampeningfluid holding areas. A fill factor can be calculated for each designpatch, which is the ratio of dampening fluid filled area to the overallunit area. A photomask image (with the texture test patches) wassuccessfully transferred from photomask to a polymer imaging blanket bythe liquid polymer application process described above with regard toFIG. 1.

FIGS. 4A-4H are SEM images at a 10 μm scale, and FIGS. 5A-H are SEMimages at a 1 μm scale, of a textured silicone surface formed by theprocess described above. FIGS. 6A-6H are edge-view SEM images of thetextured silicone surface of the samples shown in FIGS. 4A-4H and FIGS.5A-5H. The patterned photoresist template had a controlled thickness onthe order of 0.5 μm over the glass plate. Certain areas of the surfaceof the silicone imaging blanket were found to perform well withdampening fluid wetting and ink testing. Higher resolution siliconecrater features with a 2 μm crater dam width and a 5 μm lateral periodicpitch (see FIG. 2) was found to perform well for holding the testdampening fluid for an extended process time of at least 4 seconds. Thisextended dampening fluid retention time is important to allow for thestep of laser evaporation of the dampening fluid and the selectiveinking step for a digital printing press system of the type of interestherein.

Dampening fluid retention was tested by applying a typical solution(e.g., water, with 5% alcohol added) to the patterned test surfacedescribed above. Fluid retention was photographically captured some timeafter its application (approximately 10-20 seconds), as illustrated inFIGS. 7A-7C. These figures illustrate that different patterns in thesilicone cause the fluid to wet, pin, and evaporate differently. It isdesired to have uniform wetting and pin the fountain solution, as shownin FIG. 7A. FIGS. 7B and 7C show surfaces exhibiting undesirable pinningor pooling of the solution.

Ink was then applied over the structure, including retained dampeningfluid, as illustrated in FIG. 8. The ink was applied via a hand aniloxroller. Ink thickness was approximately 1 μm. Thickness of the fountainsolution depends on the underlying structure, in this case 0.5 μm. Ascan be seen, the textured silicone surface regions 30 having acontrolled and well defined height of 0.5 μm (corresponding to thephotoresist thickness on the glass master mold) were found to have goodink wetting, while the regions 32 with less well defined height (forexample due to less than optimal image UV exposure) were found to havepoor ink wetting (or non-wetting).

FIGS. 9A and 9B are edge-view SEM images of textured silicone surfacesformed from a controlled 0.5 μm photoresist thickness on the glassmaster template. Again, silicone surface regions with well-definedheights, such as illustrated in FIG. 9A, were found to have good inkwetting while less well defined height regions, such as illustrated inFIG. 9B, were found to be ink non-wetting. (Scale bar is 1 μm.)

FIG. 10 is a further illustration of ink acceptance on the prototypetextured plate. The row designations in FIG. 10 represent crater damwidth and pitch. For example, all regions in the row labeled 5/2 have a5 μm lateral periodic repeat pitch and a 2 μm crater dam width, and allregions in the row labeled 5/4 have a 4 μm lateral periodic repeat pitchand a 2 μm crater dam width. It can again be seen that regions having abetter-defined texture pattern, such as those of row 2/5, demonstrategreater ink retention as compared to smaller and more poorly definedtextures.

FIG. 11 illustrates a printing sample in which an image was formed overa textured polymer imaging surface formed by a process described above.A dampening fluid was applied over the textured imaging surface, and thepatterned formed in the solution by digital lithography. The imagingsurface was then inked to form a reverse image, and the reverse imageapplied to a paper substrate. The imaging surface was formed to haveroughly a 0.5 μm peak-to-valley height, with a honeycomb (hexagonal)texture pattern. As can be seen, the image comprises well-definedprinted ink edges and robust ink solid areas. Texture pattern A hasless-defined features than texture pattern B. The printed image showsbetter line definition in the print for texture pattern B.

Additional studies have been performed to investigate dampening fluidretaining capability. In one such study, water contact angle wasmeasured for various texture shapes. Results from this study areillustrated in FIG. 12, from which it can be seen that the texturingshapes (honey comb, round, octagon, square) with roughly 0.5 μm of peakto valley height provided significantly increased water contact angle ascompared to an unpatterned and air cured surface. (A high contact angleof water implies the water will be pinned and not move. This leads tobetter edge definition.) Crater width represents the width of thenegative features formed in the photoresist template, from which thepillar texture features are formed in the polymer. For various featureshapes, texture feature width of 3 to 4 μm (crater dam width of 2 μm)was seen to have performed the best, with contact angles in the range of120-125 degrees.

It is therefore important to realize that it is not, alone, the size ofa feature, the shape of a feature, nor the pitch between features thatis dispositive of fluid retention. Rather, it is the combination ofshape (such as the shapes discussed above, and contemplating othercross-section shapes as well), a depth such as discussed above (althoughother depths, such as between 0.5 μm and 5 μm, and in certainembodiments between 0.5 μm and 2 μm, are also contemplated herein), andspacing such as that discussed above (although other spacings, such asbetween 1 μm and 6 μm, and in certain embodiments between 1 μm and 5 μm,are also contemplated herein), that provide desirable fluid retentioncharacteristics to the imaging blanket formed as discussed above.

It is also important to realize that certain of the feature patternsdiscussed above provide channels (or grooves) between the features topermit dampening fluid to disperse and to thereby avoid air bubbleformation as well as fluid puddling. For example, with reference to FIG.2, the light regions 50 shown in lines 1-3 are recesses, meaning thatthey form raised features in the imaging surface. Therefore, the solidregions 52 of lines 1-3 form spaces between the raised features. Thesespaces form the aforementioned channels for dampening fluid dispersal.The orientation and placement of these channels may be designed tooptimize dampening fluid and/or ink coating uniformity of the printingsurface.

With reference to FIGS. 13 and 14, roughness measurements of thetextured silicone imaging surface discussed above are shown in tableformat, sorted according to shape, feature width & feature repeat pitch.FIG. 13 illustrates that higher roughness corresponds to higher watercontact angle. For example, high roughness for the honeycomb featureshape at a pitch of 6, and crater dam size of 2 μm (crater width of 3-4μm) corresponds to the high water contact angle for the honeycomb cratershape, a pitch of 6, and size of 2 μm. The honeycomb shape appears to bea good design feature due to its two-dimensional design compactness.FIG. 14 provides a table of date as a function of varying crater widths.

A process 150 for forming and implementing an imaging blanket accordingto another embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated in FIG.15, and the elements of that process illustrate in FIGS. 16A-161.According to this embodiment, a photomask is designed at 152 to providea desired texture pattern, such as the repeating pattern of honeycombfeatures described above, with feature-to-feature spacing (pitch) on theorder of 5 μm, and in certain embodiments on the order of 1 μm. At 154,a photoresist is applied over the surface of a suitable substrate (FIGS.16A and 16B). According to one embodiment, a polymer coated and anodizedaluminum sheet is processed to strip the polymer, such as by wet polymerdeveloper or O₂ plasma etch. The aluminum sheet is then applied to asuitably sized glass sheet. At 156 the photoresist is exposed, such asto UV radiation, using the photomask. At 158 the photoresist layer isetch by a suitable etchant. The etched photoresist layer is thenhardened at 160 to form a template pattern (FIG. 16C). Optionally, thephotoresist layer can be used to allow patterned etching of thesubstrate itself. Optionally, the template pattern may be released fromthe substrate, and reattached to a mold carrier, or left in place overthe substrate. A molding frame dam is next formed over the templatepattern at 162 to form a cast master (FIG. 16D). The frame dam willconfine subsequently applied liquid polymer material to the area overthe template pattern during molding. A release agent is applied over thetemplate pattern at 164 (FIG. 16E). The cast master is disposed on aleveling table at 166. A curable polymer compound, including optionalviscosity control constituents, is then applied (e.g., poured) over thecast master at 168 (FIG. 16F). The polymer compound is then cured at 170to a desired hardness to form an imaging blanket having the negative ofthe template pattern molded therein. The imaging blanket may then beremoved from the cast master at 172, such as by peeling back from thesurface of the cast master (FIG. 16G). The imaging blanket may then becleaned or otherwise prepared (FIG. 16H) for printing at 174, andapplied over an image forming member in a variable data lithographysystem at 176 (FIG. 16I). Printing may then commence at 178, asdiscussed further below.

As mentioned, the polymer imaging blanket, having a patterned imagingsurface formed by the above described molding process may be affixed toa printing member in a variable data lithography system. With referenceto FIG. 17, one example of such a system 200 for variable datalithography is illustrated. System 200 comprises an imaging member 212,in this embodiment a drum, but may equivalently be a plate, belt, etc.The aforementioned polymer imaging blanket 202 may be applied overmember 212, for example by an appropriate adhesive permitting temporaryadhesion of blanket 202 to the surface of member 212. Blanket 202 ismounted such that the patterned imaging surface faces outward.

In certain embodiments, imaging member 212, with imaging blanket 202applied thereto, is surrounded by one or more of: a direct-applicationdampening fluid subsystem 214 (although other than direct applicationsubsystems may also be used), an optical patterning subsystem 216, aninking subsystem 218, a rheology (complex viscoelastic modulus) controlsubsystem 220, transfer subsystem 222 for transferring an inked imagefrom the surface of imaging blanket 202 to a substrate 224, and finallya surface cleaning subsystem 226. Many optional subsystems may also beemployed, but are beyond the scope of the present disclosure. Ingeneral, said variable data lithography system may be operated such thatan image is produced by exposing a dampening fluid over said imagingblanket to radiation to thereby remove a portion of said dampeningfluid, selectively forming ink in regions where said dampening fluid hasbeen removed, and causing a substrate to be in physical contact withsaid ink to thereby transfer said ink from said imaging blanket to saidsubstrate. Many of these subsystems, as well as operation of the systemas a whole, are described in further detail in the aforementioned U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/095,714.

It should be understood that when a first layer is referred to as being“on” or “over” a second layer or substrate, it can be directly on thesecond layer or substrate, or on an intervening layer or layers may bebetween the first layer and second layer or substrate. Further, when afirst layer is referred to as being “on” or “over” a second layer orsubstrate, the first layer may cover the entire second layer orsubstrate or a portion of the second layer or substrate.

The physics of devices and the methods of their production are notabsolutes, but rather statistical efforts to produce a desired deviceand/or result. Even with the utmost of attention being paid torepeatability of processes, the cleanliness of manufacturing facilities,the purity of starting and processing materials, and so forth,variations and imperfections result. Accordingly, no limitation in thedescription of the present disclosure or its claims can or should beread as absolute. The limitations of the claims are intended to definethe boundaries of the present disclosure, up to and including thoselimitations. To further highlight this, the term “substantially” mayoccasionally be used herein in association with a claim limitation(although consideration for variations and imperfections is notrestricted to only those limitations used with that term). While asdifficult to precisely define as the limitations of the presentdisclosure themselves, we intend that this term be interpreted as “to alarge extent”, “as nearly as practicable”, “within technicallimitations”, and the like.

While examples and variations have been presented in the foregoingdescription, it should be understood that a vast number of variationsexist, and these examples are merely representative, and are notintended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of thedisclosure in any way. For example, the designed surface texture methoddisclosed herein can also be used to enable an Anilox- or Gravure-typeof ink metering roller where the Anilox or Gravure cells are thedesigned ink pockets to retain the printing ink.

Various of the above-disclosed and other features and functions, oralternative thereof, may be desirably combined into many other differentsystems or applications. Various presently unforeseen or unanticipatedalternatives, modifications variations, or improvements therein orthereon may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which arealso intended to be encompassed by the claims, below.

Therefore, the foregoing description provides those of ordinary skill inthe art with a convenient guide for implementation of the disclosure,and contemplates that various changes in the functions and arrangementsof the described examples may be made without departing from the spiritand scope of the disclosure defined by the claims thereto.

What is claimed is:
 1. An imaging blanket for use in a variable datalithography system, comprising: a polymer body structure having animaging surface; and formed in said imaging surface a repeating patternof molded image blanket features, each said feature having a selectedcross sectional shape, said pattern of molded image blanket featuresconfigured in an image-independent pattern.
 2. The imaging blanket ofclaim 1, wherein said image blanket features have a substantiallysimilar cross-sectional shape selected from the group consisting of:squares, octagons, circles, and hexagons.
 3. The imaging blanket ofclaim 1, wherein said image blanket features are formed as a pluralityof pillars in said imaging surface.
 4. The imaging blanket of claim 3,wherein said image blanket features formed as pillars in said imagingsurface have a circular cross-sectional shape, and are substantiallybetween 1 μm and 4 μm in width, substantially 0.5-2 μm in height, andspaced apart from one another substantially by no more than 6 μm.
 5. Theimaging blanket of claim 1, wherein said image blanket features areformed as a plurality of recesses.
 6. The imaging blanket of claim 1,wherein said image blanket is removably disposed on an image formingmember of a variable data lithography system.
 7. The imaging blanket ofclaim 1, wherein said polymer body structure comprised of materialselected from the group consisting of: fluorosilicone,fluorocarbon-based synthetic rubber, and silicone.
 8. The imagingblanket of claim 1, wherein said polymer body structure further includessubstantially 3-25 percent by weight granular material.
 9. The imagingblanket of claim 9, wherein said granular material comprises carbon. 10.A variable data lithography system, comprising: an imaging blanketcomprising: a polymer body structure having an arbitrarily reimageableimaging surface; a repeating pattern of molded image blanket featuresformed in said arbitrarily reimageable imaging surface, each saidfeature having a selected cross sectional shape, said pattern of moldedimage blanket features configured in an image-independent pattern; adampening fluid subsystem for applying a layer of dampening fluid tosaid arbitrarily reimageable imaging surface; a patterning subsystem forselectively removing portions of the dampening fluid layer so as toproduce a latent image in the dampening fluid; an inking subsystem forapplying ink over the arbitrarily reimageable imaging surface such thatsaid ink selectively occupies regions of the dampening fluid layer wheredampening fluid was removed by the patterning subsystem to therebyproduce an inked latent image; and an image transfer subsystem fortransferring the inked latent image to a substrate.
 11. The variabledata lithography system of claim 10, wherein said image blanket featureshave a substantially similar cross-sectional shape selected from thegroup consisting of: squares, octagons, circles, and hexagons.
 12. Thevariable data lithography system of claim 10, wherein said image blanketfeatures are formed as a plurality of pillars in said imaging surface.13. The variable data lithography system of claim 12, wherein said imageblanket features formed as pillars in said imaging surface have acircular cross-sectional shape, and are substantially between 1 μm and0.5-4 μm in width, substantially 2 μm in height, and spaced apart fromone another substantially by no more than 6 μm.
 14. The variable datalithography system of claim 10, wherein said image blanket features areformed as a plurality of recesses.
 15. The variable data lithographysystem of claim 10, wherein said image blanket is removably disposed onan image forming member of said variable data lithography system. 16.The variable data lithography system of claim 10, wherein said polymerbody structure comprised of material selected from the group consistingof: fluorosilicone, fluorocarbon-based synthetic rubber, and silicone.17. The variable data lithography system of claim 10, wherein saidpolymer body structure further includes substantially 3-25 percent byweight granular material.
 18. The variable data lithography system ofclaim 17, wherein said granular material comprises carbon.